In order to form a passive2 sentence, we must bear in mind the following:

—The direct object of the active becomes the subject of the passive.

—Then, we add the verb be + the past participle of the active verb.

—When we have a direct object and an indirect object in the active, both of them can be the subject of a passive sentence, but the indirect object3 is usually preferred as the subject of a passive sentence. If we wish to give emphasis to the thing (DO) rather than the person (IO), we make the direct object the subject of the passive sentence:Somebody gave her (indirect object) an ice lolly (direct object). (active)Somebody gave an ice lolly to her. (active)She was given an ice lolly. (passive→indirect object)An ice lolly was given to her. (passive→direct object)My mother has bought me a cardigan. (active)My mother has bought a cardigan for me. (active)I have been bought a cardigan. (passive→indirect object)A cardigan has been bought for me. (passive→direct object)

—If the information given by the subject of the active is important, it must be mentioned in the passive by usingby4+ the subject of the active. This is called "the agent". An active sentence like Someone stole my car becomes My car was stolen in the passive. We cannot say My car was stolen by someone because "someone" does not ;provide any useful information. Compare the following example with the one just seen: Peter stole my car→My car was stolen by Peter. In this case, the agent is necessary because if we remove it, we omit some important information. A sentence such as The police arrested the thief becomes The thief was arrested in the passive, as there is no need to mention the agent here, since it is already implied by the context that ;the job of the police is to do things of this sort.

Change the following sentences from the active voice to the passive voice.

a We never use this television set.b They make furniture here.c People call him "Mr Efficient".d They teach French and German here.e They pay us very badly.

2 Example: (simple past)Her sergeant woundedher with a knife last night. (active)Shewas wounded by her sergeant with a knife last night5. (passive)

a Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.b They offered me a rise.c The police arrested him for murder.d They cancelled the meeting owing to unavoidable circumstances.e They swore the president in6 yesterday.

a Nobody is doing anything about it.b Are you offering me a bonus?c Are they renting the house now?d They are still holding the meeting.e They're still discussing the same topic.

4 Example: (past continuous)Somebody was robbingthe bank when the alarm went off. (active)The bankwas being robbed when the alarm went off. (passive)

a They were interrogating him then.b They were installing a burglar alarm in the house when he came in.c A tiger was chasing us when they saw us.d We noticed that someone was following us.e Nobody was feeding the bears when we got there.

5 Examples: (infinitives7)They'll lendus THE MONEY WE NEED. (active)We'll be lent the money we need. (passive)THE MONEY WE NEEDwill be lentTO us. (passive)They're going to giveher A BOX OF CHOCOLATES. (active)She's going to be given a box of chocolates. (passive)A BOX OF CHOCOLATESis going to be givenTO her. (passive)You should recastyour speech in more formal language. (active)Your speechshould be recast in more formal language. (passive)

a If you behave well, I'll buy you a cornet.b We ought to build the dog a kennel.c They won't pay you tomorrow.d We're going to need a lot of help.e We can't carry out our threat.

a They would have signed the contract if you hadn't put your foot in it. (Leave the if-clause unchanged.)b They must have redecorated their house.c In two months' time, this contagious disease will have affected all the population in the town.d The town council would have contracted out the job of cleaning the streets to this firm if they were more efficient.e Nobody can have kidnapped her.

7 Examples: (perfect tenses9)Nobody has seenher for the last two weeks. (active)Shehas not been seen for the last two weeks. (passive)

a They still haven't finished the report.b When we went there, they had already sold the house.c They have overlaid the walls of our house with a synthetic fibre against damp.d Later on, I realised that somebody had eaten my ice-cream cones as well.e Somebody has torn the buttons of my jacket off.

8 Revision exercise.a They used to cut this fabric by hand, but now they use a machine.b They showed me the door.c I'd have opened the door if I had had the key.d The police have trapped two of the murderers so far.e My wife gives me a kiss every single morning.f Did Jane Green win the tournament?g Many people would not have contracted AIDS if they had been more careful.h I'm afraid we'll have to put off the programme on account of circumstances beyond our control.i Somebody had torn some pages out of her diary.j A rabid dog attacked my father when he was striding across the fields.k The way he smelled put me off.l Did he promise her the moon?m They sell fish and chips10 here.n Last month someone punctured three of my tyres.o She'll set her fierce dog on anyone that enters the place.p Somebody had slashed two of my tyres.q A ferocious beast must have attacked and killed her.r "Who discovered penicillin?"
"Alexander Fleming discovered it in 1928."s They are pulling down the old cinema.t Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.u The enemy was invading the island when our air force arrived.v The enemy's commando throttled the sentry and blew up the powder magazine.w We repair dishwashers.x Somebody stabbed her when she was sleeping.y The local authority should knock this building down.z They haven't invited Amy to their party.

9 Examples: (infinitives and gerunds)We don't want you to inviteAmy. (active)We don't want Amyto be invited. (passive)I would like you to sendme A COPY OF THE CONTRACT. (active)I would like to be sent a copy of the contract. (passive; the subject of the sentence and the indirect object are the same (I-me), so the indirect object is omitted.)I would like A COPY OF THE CONTRACTto be sentTO me. (passive→direct object)I don't mind people sendingher FLOWERS. (active)I don't mind herbeing sent flowers. (passive→indirect object)I don't mind FLOWERSbeing sentTO her. (passive→direct object)I don't mind people sendingme FLOWERS. (active)I don't mind being sent flowers. (passive; the subject of the sentence and the indirect object are the same (I-me), so the indirect object is dropped.)I don't mind FLOWERSbeing sentTO me. (passive→direct object)

a I can't stand people laughing at me.b I don't like my pupils to give me gifts.c I asked them to admit me to the club.d I'd prefer them not to phone me.e They dislike people shouting at them.

Some verbs are followed by an object + an infinitive without to, but take a to-infinitive in the passive. For more details, see unit 23, section 5.

a They made him work in shifts.b He heard her say that her van was in its last legs.c Everyone watched him strike her with a stick.d They made us confess everything.e We saw Brenda dance to rock and roll music.

11 Examples:People say (that) heis a raver. (active)Heis saidto be a raver. (passive)It is said (that) he is a raver. (passive)People say (that) hewas a raver. (active)He is saidto have been11 a raver. (passive)It is said (that) he was a raver. (passive)

The two passive constructions seen above are synonymous and only possible with verbs such as say, think, believe, consider, find, know, report.

a They claimed he stole/had stolen her purse.b They expect that the match will take place on Friday evening.c People think she is touched.d They alleged that he robbed/had robbed the jeweller's.e People consider that he was a corrupt politician.

12 Examples:She suggested breaking into the house by night. (active)She suggested that they should break into the house by night. (active)She suggested that the houseshould be broken into12 by night. (passive)They advised usto buya new tractor. (active)They advised buying13a new tractor. (active)They advised that we should buya new tractor. (active)They advised that a new tractorshould be bought. (passive)Wewere advised to buy a new tractor. (passive)They decided not to lendhim ANY MONEY. (active)They decided that they should not lendhim ANY MONEY. (active)They decided that heshould not be lent any money. (passive)They decided that NO MONEYshould be lentTO him. (passive)

After some verbs we can have two structures in the active: a gerund or an infinitive and a should-construction; the latter being more formal. In the passive, the should-construction is required, unless we have a verb such as "advise", in which case the indirect object may be the subject of a passive sentence; thus, we can avoid using "should". For further information, see unit 22, section 36. Despite what we have seen here, there are other options, but they are usually less common than the ones used in this section. For these options, see the next section.

a She urged her boss to expand the business.b He ordered14 his men to take up their positions right then.c The authorities recommended not making any fires in the area.d The Prime Minister insisted upon reducing the public expenditure.e We suggested employing another accountant.

13 Examples:People have demanded that the government should create more jobs. (active)Ithas been demanded that more jobs should be created. (passive)They decided15 not to lend him any money. (active)They decided that they should not lendhim ANY MONEY. (active)Itwas decided not to lend him any money. (passive)Itwas decided that heshould not be lent any money/that NO MONEYshould be lentTO him. (passive)People suggested16 not demolishingthe building. (active)People suggested that no-one should demolish the building. (active)Itwas suggested not demolishing the building. (passive)Itwas suggested that the buildingshould not be demolished. (passive)

We can use it as a preparatory subject of a that-clause, an infinitive construction or a gerund phrase to make a passive sentence, as has just been seen above. Nonetheless, you must take into account that this is only possible with some verbs, such as "demand", "decide" and "suggest". Compare this section with the previous one.

a They have recommended not to use dynamite in the mine.b They have recommended that nobody should consume this trademark of cheese, as they say that some batches are off.c One may well think that one should put a traitor to death.d They have announced that they are going to cut down public spending.e People are demanding to know the whys and wherefores of their decision.

We use have/getsomethingdone17 to denote that somebody does something to us or for us. Get is colloquial, and may indicate some sort of difficulty or effort, or the idea of having something to do. For additional information, see units 6 (part 4, sections 5 and 6) and 23 (section 10).

a A translator is going to translate this letter into English for us.b This tap is dripping. We'll have to employ a plumber to mend it.c Somebody bruised my eye in a fight.d Someone has broken my spectacles.e A hairdresser is doing her hair.

15 Revision exercise.a They are taking down our former house.b I do not object to your promoting me, but I do object to your paying me so little.c They thought he was overseas.d The wind had torn the flag away from its pole.e "Who signed this document?"
"My brother signed it."f They have promised us the earth.g He proposed our giving them a pay rise.h I'd love you to take me to the opera tonight.i She's not responsible for telling the enemy our intentions.j He allows18 his students to use dictionaries in his examinations.k Somebody helped her to exterminate the plague of rats.l The government has decided to spend more money on education.m The murderer had ripped the phone wires out so that no-one could ring the police.n Her boss sent her to London last month.o I'm sick and tired of people taking me photographs.p A mechanic is going to check my brakes.q We saw and killed the enemy when they were sliding into the barracks.r We hate people ordering us around.s The painter is painting my bungalow.t People believe that he has not gone out with a woman in his life.u Simon Brown knocked Tony Taylor down in the second round.v We saw her leave the house hurriedly.w We saw her speaking to Mrs Green.x Peter Jones holds the world record for javeling throwing.y We'll have to invest more money in the project.z The strangler strangled her with a scarf.

____________________ 1 Not all transitive verbs take the passive voice:She has a car (active)
*A car is had. (This passive construction is not correct.)

Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns cannot be the subject of a passive sentence:I sent myself a bunch of flowers. (active)*Myself was sent a bunch of flowers. (This passive structure is impossible.)We kissed each other. (active)*Each other was kissed. (This passive sentence is not possible.)2Deserve, need, require and want plus a gerund have a passive meaning: This plant needs watering/to be watered. For more details, see unit 23, section 18.3 This passive construction is impossible in some languages; for instance, in Catalan and Castilian.4 Occasionally, another preposition can occur in place of by:What she said amazed me.
I was amazedby/at what she said.

Note also:My heart filled with sadness.
Sadness filled my heart
My heart was filled with sadness. (not by sadness)5 Note the word order.6Swear in is normally used in the passive.7 Infinitives continuous are avoided in the passive:They can't be cleaning the swimming-pool.
*The swimming-pool can't be being cleaned. (This structure is not generally used so as to avoid the combination "be being".)8 Perfect continuous infinitives are avoided in the passive:They ought to have been fixing my car.
*My car ought to have been being fixed. (This construction is not normally used so as to avoid using "been being".)9 In order to avoid saying "been being", we do not usually put perfect continuous tenses into the passive voice:They have been attacking us for the last two days.
*We have been being attacked for the last two days. (Avoid this.)10 This object is singular.11 The perfect infinitive refers to a previous action.
Another instance: The authorities reported (a later action) that he was murdered/had been murdered (an earlier action) with a knife.→Hewas reported to have been murdered with a knife/Itwas reported that he was murdered/had been murdered with a knife. Compare this with the following:People saidhe was handsome.
He was saidto be handsome. ("to have been handsome" would imply that he was not handsome any more or that he was already dead.)Itwas said (that) he was handsome.12 The subjunctive is also possible with these verbs; the only thing you have to do is to leave out the word should: She suggested that the house be broken into. For the employment of the subjunctive, see unit 22, sections 35, 36 and 37.13See unit 23, section 7.14 This structure indicates that he told his men direct; the one with should, that he told somebody else, which is why it would be much better not to use the should-construction here.15 Note the position of the agent:His employer decided not to lend him any money.His employer decided that he should not lend him any money.
It was decided by his employer not to lend him any money.
It was decided by his employer that he should not be lent any money/that no money should be lent to him.16 Notice the position of the agent:The authorities suggested not demolishing the building.The authorities suggested that no-one should demolished the building.
It was suggested by the authorities not demolishing the building.
It was suggested by the authorities that the building should not be demolished.17 However, it is possible to say the following as well:My fountain penwas pinched.Our vanwas fixed yesterday.18See unit 23, section 7.